A Brother Lost
by Mangascribbler
Summary: Sesshomaru's veiw of what happened when Kikyo pinned Inuyasha to the Tree of Ages.ONESHOT


**A Brother Lost**

Sesshomaru continued to examine the ground around him. Years and years of searching, but to no avail. _What a waste of my time. _Sesshomaru thought to himself. What he sought was a grave containing a sword dubbed the Tesusiaga, the Steel-Cleaving Fang. Though he could hear the man coming toward him, Sesshomaru didn't turn. _More time wasters…_

"S-sir?" Sesshomaru heard the man shaking, his thudding heart, smelt his fear. It pleased him to know that he was feared.

"Don't bother me. I have other things to attend to." Sesshomaru spoke without looking up from his examination of the ground. The man shifted his weight, but made no move to leave.

"I c-come with n-news. I-it could prove v-valuable to you!" The man's' ragged breath left no doubt that he had come in a hurry, but Sesshomaru was not used to being disobeyed.

"Did you not hear what I told you? I will not give you a second chance." He had risen to his feet by now, and he heard the man stumble back as Sesshomaru revealed his considerable height of 6"5. Turning around he gave the man a glare that could have frozen alcohol. "What do you want?"

"Y-your brother m-my Lord….." the man stammered. He didn't seem to want to say any more, but Sesshomaru was becoming tired of waiting. After about five minutes Sesshomaru decided he had had about enough.

"My patience wears thin. What about my wretch of a brother?" Sesshomaru's voice rose as he took a step toward the trembling person on the ground.

The man broke down, weeping in fear. "He is dead, Lord! He is dead!" Sesshomaru froze midstride. He had failed.

_**Flashback**_

_Sesshomaru had followed the scent for days. Over hills, up trees, and across rivers, the trail wove and tangled with the scent of demon blood and the smoke from the occasional campfire. _Stupid brat_ Sesshomaru thought to himself as the he came across yet another demon corpse, this one lacked a throat and blood still gushed from the wound. He was close. Very close._

_A few more minutes and he came to a stream. A red kimono hung dripping from a tree branch and a person seemed to be washing their hands in the river and muttering under his breath. Sesshomaru caught a few words. "Damn beast! He got what was coming to him, insulting me like that!" The wind changed, sending Sesshomaru's sent flowing over the river. The boy stiffened and whipped around, revealing silver hair to match Sesshomaru's, dog ears to mark his half-breed status and clear golden eyes. Sesshomaru knew he had found his brother._

_**Flashback Continue**_

_The boy snarled, revealing fangs. "Who are _you_, and what do you want, to avenge your friend back there? I'll kill you, just like I did him!"_

_Sesshomaru looked at him coldly. "I doubt you could if you tried, and besides, killing your only surviving family member would be stupid, even for a filthy half breed as yourself." Only one word seemed to have registered with the boy. "Family?" he murmured. _

"_I am your half brother Sesshomaru. You must be Inuyasha, my father's mistake."Sesshomaru sneered._

_Inuyasha charged out of the river bed until he stood very close to Sesshomaru. "How dare you!" he shouted as he thrust his claws at Sesshomaru's stomach. Sesshomaru leaned back slightly to avoid the blow and responded by punching Inuyasha across the face. Not hard by Sesshomaru's standard, but hard enough that the eleven year-old skidded across the ground. _

"_How dare _I_?" Sesshomaru asked, his voice rising in volume at every word. "How dare _I_? You are the by-product of my fathers' foolishness! If not for your stupid human mother, he would never have left me alone like he did! If not for you, he wouldn't have died" Sesshomaru was breathing heavily. He hadn't shown so much emotion for a long time. He didn't like the feeling of vulnerability that came with it. He lowered his voice "Your own mother was so ashamed of you she chose death. She hated you." _

"_You don't know that!" Inuyasha yelled, tears in his eyes. "It wasn't her fault! Did you come here to tell me that?"_

"_Foolish half-breed. I don't have such time to waste. I came here for two things. To ask you if you knew of Father's grave, which I can see now that you don't and to tell you that you have my unwilling protection until you can care for yourself. I will be traveling on my own, but I'll occasionally check on you. Father died for you, so perhaps he knew something I don't." So saying he left his brother sitting in the riverbank mud. _Now, he had failed. His brother was dead.

_**Flashback End**_

"P-please! Don't hurt me!" The shriek woke Sesshomaru from his reminiscing in time to realize that he was on the verge of transforming. His anger at the news had caused his irises to change from gold to green, and the whites to turn a bloody red. Sesshomaru closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth to steady his temper. When he opened his eyes they had reverted to a clear gold. "Where?"

The man continued to sob at his feet. "In the village that houses the Shikon Jewel! In the forest!" The man raised his head only to see that Sesshomaru was gone.

Sesshomaru had found the village. It was in near ruins, but some repairs had been made. He walked slowly through the streets heading in the direction of the forest, but met no resistance. Only peasants who fled at the sight of him. Only one woman said anything to him. "You demon! You have the gall to walk through a populated village in broad daylight? You…" She trailed off as Sesshomaru turned and narrowed his eyes at her. Her eyes widened in shock and her voice shook as she spoke again. "You….. you look like…." She turned and ran. Sesshomaru kept walking.

He picked up Inuyasha's sent and followed it to a tree. An arrow had pierced the right side of his brother's chest and pinned him there. Sesshomaru reached out to touch the arrow and before he even came in contact with it a large amount of purifying energy washed over his hand and lit it with pale flames. He stared expressionlessly at the fire as it fizzled out and left his hand quite unscathed. A voice surprised him, as he hadn't heard anyone approaching.

"Step away from the Tree of Ages! Who are ye, demon! State your business!" Sesshomaru pivoted to face the speaker. She was a young girl, nine or ten with a patch over one eye and a loaded bow in hand. The arrow happened to be aimed at him, but Sesshomaru doubted that it would do much. Such little energy flowed around it that he doubted it could touch him. The girl gasped and shock flickered in her eyes. "The villagers were saying that a demon that looked like Inuyasha came through, but I didn't think…" she stayed silent for a moment and then seemed to remember her original question. "Who are ye? Answer!"

Sesshomaru didn't see a reason to answer, but he didn't see a reason _not _to. "I am Sesshomaru, Lord of the West. The only brother to Inuyasha." The girl's eyes widened again, but this time, it was with fear. Then anger blazed up in her and she shouted at him,"He killed my sister! He stole the Jewel! He destroyed the village! Inuyasha is a traitor!" Sesshomaru stared at her. "There is no blood-scent on his claws you fool. He killed no one. He was framed." He gazed at her one last time. "I will not forget this." Giving over to his anger Sesshomaru transformed into a beast and bayed his sorrows to the sky. He launched into the air and left the little girl weeping on the edge of an enormous paw print deep in the forest.

**Fifty Years Later**

Jaken punted the boat across the lake. He could almost feel the anger radiating off his master, Lord Sesshomaru, at the delay of finding the grave, and he feared the consequences of what he was about to say. Sesshomaru hadn't spoken Inuyasha's name since his death. Jaken spoke up. "Lord Sesshomaru?"

"Yes?"

"The grave… Wouldn't Inuyasha know it?"

"Inu…Yasha…" Sesshomaru backhanded Jaken, sending him over the side of the punt. "Do not remind me of that vile half-breed."

"Please! Forgive me!" Jaken cried as he fought to keep his head above the water.

"In any case," Sesshomaru continued, "he is gone. Laid low by a Geis I hear."

"Y-yes, that _was_ true… but not now…" Jaken gasped, still floundering.

"Eh?" Sesshomaru fought to remain calm, but inside he was joyful. He hadn't failed his father after all.


End file.
